2014 hong kong protests

HONG KONG - Protesters in Hong Kong have occupied major roads in several districts on Saturday (Aug 31) amid tighter security as authorities prepare for possible violence after demonstrations have gone ahead despite a ban. As demonstrators flooded roads in the popular Causeway Bay shopping district, the civic district in Admiralty, Wan Chai and the Central business district - a nearly 3km stretch - police issued several warnings for the crowd to disperse. Armed with umbrellas against the muggy weather, tens of thousands marched on the roads with no clear destination, shouting slogans including "fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong". Small pockets of protesters have been building makeshift barricades in parts of the city, a bid to disrupt traffic, before quickly dispersing. Police had on Thursday rejected the application for a march to Beijing's liaison office in the city, citing safety reasons, but tens of thousands have gone ahead and taken to the streets, … [Read more...] about Hong Kong protesters occupy major roads despite police warning

HONG KONG - Protesters were expected to gather in downtown Hong Kong on Saturday - the latest in a series of anti-government demonstrations that have plunged the Chinese-ruled city into its worst political crisis in decades. Police blocked plans for a mass show of force marking the fifth anniversary of a decision by China to curtail democratic reforms in the former British colony, which returned to China in 1997. The Civil Human Rights Front, the organizer of previous mass protests, cancelled Saturday's demonstration after being denied permission, but not having a permit has not stopped people demonstrating in the past. "Although organizers said they will cancel the event, we anticipate people will come out," a senior police official with experience as a commander on the ground during recent confrontations told a press briefing. "If they come out we will see how they act. If they do it in a peaceful manner, police will exercise proportionate action to prevent major confrontation. If … [Read more...] about Hong Kong protesters expected to regroup despite police ban

HONG KONG: Pun sees himself as a peaceful, middle-class Hong Kong student. Yet since the beginning of June, he has been building barricades and throwing bricks at police, risking his own liberty to fight, as he sees it, for the city's freedoms.In one of the world's safest cities, the idea of violence as a legitimate form of political expression - hand-in-hand with peaceful protest - is becoming increasingly mainstream in the evolving tactics of a decentralised pro-democracy movement that has disrupted Chinese-ruled Hong Kong for 11 weeks."I know violence cannot fight violence, but sometimes aggression is needed to attract the attention of the government and others," 22-year-old Pun said last week, speaking at the city's airport after overnight clashes with police."I have thrown rocks, I have acted as a shield with umbrellas for others, I have been helping to build barricades, to bring supplies, to take injured people to a safe zone. I have also been hit by police with batons. We're all … [Read more...] about Hong Kong protests: Why a student throws bricks at police

HONG KONG: Anti-government protesters in Hong Kong plan to rally later on Sunday (Jul 7) outside a controversial station where high-speed trains depart for the Chinese mainland as they try to turn up pressure on the city's pro-Beijing leaders.The rally is the first major protest planned since last Monday's unprecedented storming of parliament by largely young, masked protesters - a move which plunged the international financial hub further into crisis.Hong Kong has been rocked by a month of huge peaceful protests as well as a series of separate violent confrontations with police, sparked by a law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.The bill has since been postponed in response to the huge backlash but that has done little to quell public anger which has evolved into a wider movement calling for democratic reforms and a halt to sliding freedoms in the semi-autonomous city.Protesters are demanding the bill be scrapped entirely, an independent inquiry into … [Read more...] about China station next target for Hong Kong protesters

Hong Kong protesters have piled the pressure on pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam with a series of huge demonstrations against a divisive bill to allow extraditions to mainland China.Hong Kong, a former British colony, was handed back to China in 1997 but benefits from a "One Country, Two Systems" policy that allows it to retain certain key liberties, such as freedom of speech and an independent judiciary, until 2047.A push for democratic reforms saw unprecedented street protests in 2014, with demands for change reignited in February this year.Here is an overview:2003: NATIONAL SECURITY LAWSome half a million people marched against a controversial attempt by the government to introduce a national security law that critics feared would curtail free speech.The bill, which came after a deadly outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), was the first mass demonstration movement the city's pro-Beijing leaders had faced since the handover.It was eventually shelved, and set in process … [Read more...] about A history of massive Hong Kong protests